DGA (semi) surprises with a Taika Waititi nomination

by Nathaniel R

Taika is a previous Oscar nominee for Live Action Short. He could become an Oscar nominee in additional categories this year (Best Director and Best Screenplay)

Making a clean sweep of the major guild nominations, Jojo Rabbit is also in with the Directors Guild of America. This was not totally expected but neither is it much of a surprise since his "anti-hate satire"has performed well all season with awards bodies, despite very vocal detractors and a modest box office performance. Yes, it grossed just a little less than Parasite but since it has Hollywood stars and is in English it wasn't half the breakout word-of-mouth smash that the former was. Where the DGA is always more interesting is in their less Oscar-buzzed "first time feature" category. The nominees are after the jump...

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Producers Guild goes with Oscar's expected top ten... no box office deviations this year.

The Producers Guild have announced their nominations for the film and television year. Unlike in some previous years they've ignored unexpected non-prestige-ready blockbusters this time, focusing exclusively on films expecting to do well on Oscar nomination morning.

Little Women isn't down for the count yet in the Best Picture raceOutstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

• 1917 Producers: Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne‐Ann Tenggren, Callum McDougall
• Ford v Ferrari Producers: Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, James Mangold
• The Irishman Producers: Jane Rosenthal & Robert De Niro, Emma Tillinger Koskoff & Martin Scorsese
• Jojo Rabbit Producers: Carthew Neal, Taika Waititi
• Joker Producers: Todd Phillips & Bradley Cooper, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
• Knives Out Producers: Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman
• Little Women Producer: Amy Pascal
• Marriage Story Producers: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman
• Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood Producers: David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
• Parasite Producers: Kwak Sin Ae, Bong Joon Ho

In short, it's Best Picture predictions again. I know people have issues with the MCU but since this award is for producers, it seems strange to shun the gargantuan producing effort that worked so hard for 12 years to culminate in Avengers Endgame. Thinking it should have been here. Also strange to ignore the in-no-way-a-sure-thing success of The Farewell and Hustlers which just as easily could have been a indies that everyone ignored but for their success in execution and delivery. But then, those films are about women and most of the mainstream awards bodies prefer stories about men (sigh)

But all is not lost for films that didn't make this list and all is not secure for films that did make this list. Here's a trivia list for you...

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How often do two top Globe victories translate to Oscar gold?

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Sam Mendes had a great night on Sunday when he took home both Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama for his war epic 1917. That two-hander worked out very well for him exactly twenty years ago for his debut feature, American Beauty, since he went on to repeat at the Oscars. Winning both prizes at both ceremonies, however, doesn’t actually happen often. 

Between Mendes’ two bookends, that feat has only occurred twice...

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WGA nominations don't tell the whole story

This week is huge for precursor nominations (Visual Effects Society, DGA, PGA, and BAFTA all hit tomorrow) but today was the Writers Guild of America's turn.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• 1917 -Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
• Booksmart - Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, Katie Silberman
• Knives Out - Rian Johnson
• Marriage Story - Noah Baumbach
• Parasite - Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won

A strongish lineup even if we wouldn't single out 1917's strength as its writing. Curiously, both The Two Popes and Hustlers were eligible for Original with the WGA (and missed) but they're both competing in Adapted for Oscar voters where they actually belong since they're based on a play and a magazine article respectively. Did the confusion cost them votes?  This WGA lineup is bad news for critical darlings like Honey Boy, Uncut Gems,  and Dolemite is My Name, any of which might have made headway in a weaker year for Originals. But the three strongest alternate threats for an Oscar nomination weren't eligible...

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FYC: Claire Mathon for Best Cinematography

by Cláudio Alves

Two years ago, Rachel Morrison made history when she became the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. By no means does that imply Mudbound's wondrous DP is a pioneer. There are many awards-worthy female DPs working in cinema, past and present, and the Academy's sketchy record should be understood as nothing more than the industry's  internalized sexism and biases. Where were the nominations for Maryse Alberti, Agnès Godard, and Ellen Kuras, among others?

This year, critics have been united in their praise of a particular DP whose double dose of photographic genius could make History, just as Morrison did in 2018. However, Claire Mathon is fighting against even more of the Academy's treacherous biases, including their disinterest in African cinema, LGBTQ stories, and non-English speaking narratives…

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